Home for the Holidays
by Kate of Carlay
Summary: Some things refuse to be forgotten, some people just won't forgive, sometimes you have to swallow your pride, and some times the holidays just seem like the perfect time to go home. -POST MOCKINGJAY- *Written for the Starvation monthly challenge "HOME"*


**_A/N: This was written for the Starvation monthly Challenge. Lot's of fun over there, play posting games, advertise your stories for reviewing, find a few good reads, or just jump into a conversation. Starvation is #3 on the HG discussion forums. Check it out and you can compete in this month's challenge:_**

**_"Home"_**

**_Also this is a sort of companion piece for a fic exchange I did, you might want to read that too, but you dont NEED to, to understand. It s called "Family"_**

**_Remember to review! :D_**

**_I am not SuCo_**

* * *

"You haven't been back in over twenty years, Gale," said the short, brunette as she watched her husband dressing. She sat cross legged on top of the cream colored quilt they spent their nights under. Wrinkles surrounded her eyes but they stayed focused on his tall frame as she inspected his reactions to her words.

"Neither have you," he retorted.

"That's for different reasons," she replied with a shudder at the thought of the near constant rain in her home District. "Your reasons are dumb. She still can't be mad at you over something you never did."

He ran a hand over his short, dark hair that had been touched with gray at the edges. "She stopped talking to you when you married me. Only Beetee has ever seen our boy Troy, and he's the only one that still talks to me." Gale finished fastening the shiny brass buttons running up the middle of his sharp, black commander's uniform. He turned to face his wife of nineteen years, his sleek black boots clicked on the hard wood flooring.

"Plenty of people still talk to you," Johanna scowled at him and stood up so that she could reach up and tug his collar straight. "Beetee, Plutarch, your generals practically kiss the ground you walk on, the mayor of District 2 celebrates you as a hero, the mayor of District 12 told you if you ever wanted to return home, he has a military base built and that you could stay there. President Paylor not only likes you, that old lady actually respects you-"

"But none of them knew me from before." Gale shrugged his shoulders and started to look around there bedroom. "I'm sorry I won't be with you over the holiday. I'm sure you can still spend it with my mother and Posy and her new…friend." The last word out of Gale's mouth sounded more aggressive than it should have.

"You mean her fiancé?" Johanna cackled wickedly while she walked out of the room and called over her shoulder; "No thank you, I love Hazel dearly, but Posy and Lichen are basically honeymooning already." Johanna returned with the dark black cap, the missing piece of Commander Hawthorne's uniform. She placed it on his head and grinned up at him before stealing a kiss. "There you are, gorgeous." She grinned as he tried not to.

"But you shouldn't spend it alone," Gale admonished. "Troy should be-"

"Our son is an important military man like his father." Johanna rolled her eyes. "And he'll be with you."

Gale scowled. "But Rory could-"

"He's got a few more shipments of granite to work out before he leaves Districct 2 and if he does, he'll be playing big bad brother and glaring at Lichen."

Gale threw his hands up in the air. "Would you knock that off!"

"No," his wife winked at him. "Don't worry about me. You go off on your sweeping, mind your broom, I have plans for the holiday."

Gale scowled, lines of worry deepened across his forehead and around his mouth. "Fine," he said skeptically. "I'll be back in a week or so, I'll be reporting on T.V. if we find anything. Every other day or so."

"Be safe, hurry home," Johanna told her husband and helped him shoulder his bag and gave him a kiss as he walked out the door to the waiting hover craft. She watched the gray vehicle disappear into the air and she returned to their bedroom. She sighed and she dug into her closet before reappearing with her own pack thrown over a shoulder and a coat dangling over one arm. "I always was the better liar. Besides, some hatchets can't stay buried and forgotten, they need to be dug up and sharpened," she said to herself.

The woman locked up her house and left for the train station. If her husband was too stubborn to see his home, she was too stubborn to let him mope about it.

It took some time to get from the mines of District 2 to the forested areas of District 12. She watched silently as fields, and towns passed her by, she cringed some when she was passing through a part of her home District and rain drops pattered gently on the roof. There weren't many people traveling on the holiday, most had already left the night before so that they would arrive earlier, many stayed where they were at. That was fine with Johanna; she didn't like many people's company to begin with.

When the train finally pulled into the station at District 12, she had to remember the basic layout before she left the building. She didn't want to get caught outside with the storm rushing in. She remembered the city hall from her Victory Tour, and details of 'The Seam' from Gale's descriptions, but she hoped that the Victor's Village, where her destination was, was like all other Districts and just a quick walk from the town. She wrapped her knee length coat up around her and pulled the hood around her face to protect her from any stray rain or snow that might want to ravage her as she pushed her way out into the streets.

She had been wrong. It wasn't a quick walk. It was a long walk. She ended up running like a mad woman over the dirt path that led up to the tall houses that were once symbols of victory.

Snowflakes gently floated down from gray sky over head, the heaps of snow piled along the pathway taking them all in eagerly. Smoke drifted upwards from a well lit house up on the hill with a mixture of trees holding up bare branches and other evergreens in their full glory around the home. It was like a perfect winter wonderland from a holiday card, all that was missing was the horse drawn carriage waiting in the front yard.

Johanna hated it. All she could think about were the people in that house were warm, and dry. To her, every snowflake that landed on her exposed flesh, turning to water and burning memories of icy cells and shocking electricity flared to life in her.

When she finally reached the door she pounded on it vigorously and gripped her coat tighter around her. A gust of wind shoved her hood back from her face and snowflakes drifted in to attack her poor face and scalp, she tried to grab her hood, but soon the door opened and she forgot all about it as she shoved her way into the warm, dry air.

She had originally planned to not barge in like this, but plans change.

Johanna flicked her way out of the wet coat with nimble expertise, just as the person who opened the door took it from her. She looked up at his pure blue eyes, his blond hair barely hiding the silver streaks in it, and laugh lines thickened as he smiled his youthful grin at her.

"Johanna," he almost whispered as he wrapped her in his arms.

She scowled and shoved him away. "You act like you haven't seen me in years, Peeta."

"I haven't." He shrugged, then looked at her with concern."Is something wrong with…"

Johanna shook her head. "Gale is working over the holidays. That's why I'm here. I thought that maybe, we could try and get them talking again. Katniss hasn't said a word to me since she found out we were getting married. She acts like Gale carries the plague or something."

Peeta nodded slowly, contemplating how he was going to begin bringing their old friends back into his and Katniss's life. "Well let's go," he said and led the way back into the dining room.

Johanna listened to laughing, as a story began to reach her ears, she knew it, it was about her old friend Finnick, and how he argued with Nuts –Wiress- about clothing. Johanna had agreed with Finnick. As soon as she entered the room behind Peeta's careful smile she faltered.

"Look who has finally decided to join us after so many years." Peeta gestured to a chair. "Go ahead and have a seat Johanna."

She sat down carefully, only sparing a glance at Katniss, her eyes were fixed on the boy holding Annie's hand. She had heard of him from Beetee, like she had heard of Peeta and Katniss' children, but she never expected Shoal Odair to look exactly like his father. Like her old friend Finnick.

Johanna pulled herself away from the old memories but still watched Shoal carefully, like she expected him to be Finnick, jump up and laugh at everyone who aged and how he stayed young. "So was that the time Finnick declared all human beauty should be on display, ripped off his shirt and caused those people to wreck the food cart?"

"And Wiress pointed at them and told him 'my point exactly'," Beetee finished while smiling at Johanna and the table broke apart in laughter. Even Katniss smiled, and that was what Johanna intended from this entire ordeal, to get back into Katniss' life, if only for her husband's sake.

"Who's Finnick, and Wiress?" asked a little boy with blond hair, and gray eyes who sat Katniss's elbow. He must have her son, Rimmick.

Some of Johanna's temper flared at that question. Had Katniss intentionally left out all the stories of the other people who fought in the war? Had she only told her children what she did? What about everyone else. Johanna had been trapped and tortured, she remembered the pain as she stared at the glass of water in front of her. Peeta had been through just as much as she did but they wanted to keep him alive, he didn't know anything about the rebellion. She did. Annie was broken to begin with. Finnick broke some time after. Did that boy really not know any of this?

"They were heroes of the war and friends to us all. Finnick was Annie's husband, Shoal's father. Wiress was a friend of Beetee's from District 3," an older blond woman told the boy. She must have been Katniss' mother, Johanna remembered her from living in District 13.

"They are some of the people I tell you about in the stories," said a gray haired elderly woman that Johanna had never met. "But to put it simply, they were heroes like everyone else."

That seemed to bring the children's questions to a halt. The dinner continued, Beetee happily talking to Johanna, Annie asking her a few questions, and Johanna keeping a wary eye on Shoal, still finding it hard to believe that he was not Finnick, but Finnick's son. Peeta kept the peace between everyone, with Mrs. Everdeen's help. The oldest woman there, Greasy Sae, even approved of Johanna's wry sense of humor and joined her in bantering with people.

The talking slowed down, as dinner started to come to an end and the people began to move to the sitting room. The youngest child started to yawn, and he was soon in Katniss' lap, fast asleep. Shoal had kept Finna, Peeta's little girl playing all evening and soon she too was fighting to stay awake. The parents excused themselves to carry the children to bed. Shoal finally began acting like his mother, and less like his father, and started to sit properly in the chairs, and glance out of the window. Slowly he began to pace while his mother happily chatted.

Katniss soon joined Shoal at the window. They were talking quietly and soon came to an agreement.

"It's a blizzard," Katniss told all of them. "No one will be leaving for a while."

"I'll go turn down the guest rooms," Greasy Sae announced and hobbled up the stairs.

Mrs. Everdeen didn't appear happy about being stuck in District 12, but she stalked off up the stairs to assist the old woman.

Annie let out a large yawn, it was already very late. Shoal sat by her side and smiled at her.

Haymitch stood and looked at Katniss. "Don't screw this chance up again," he told her while he looked at me. Then he patted her knee, "Good night, Sweetheart." The old drunk walked over to the door and left.

Peeta saw Johanna watching him go. "He lives right next door, and would be unbearable if he was stuck in the same house as all of us for very long."

"Of course," Johanna nodded. "He's Haymitch, what else could expect? Stay under one roof with people, or face a blizzard?"

"That poor blizzard," Peeta laughed.

"I'm going to bed then, my usual room?" Annie asked them while standing and placing a motherly kiss on top of Shoal's head.

"Let me know if you need anything," Katniss called to her old friend.

Once his mother had left though, Shoal turned on Johanna with stony eyes. "So you were friends with my mother? My father?"

Johanna raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Of course, I knew him longer than anyone except for old Haymitch and your mother."

"And you never came to see me, or my mother?" he demanded. "It helps her, seeing anyone of her friends. And you couldn't even drop by and say hello?"

"Now you hold it right there you little upstart." Johanna glared down her nose at him now, half standing in her chair."

"Shoal, don't—" Peeta began but was cut off.

"This was a different argument that didn't include you, or your parents, boy." Johanna snapped.

"Then how were we left out of things?" Shoal demanded, his eyes flashing. Johanna remembered that look. She saw it in Finnick's eyes whenever they argued.

"You were caught in a problem, we both were, just on different sides." Johanna's brown eyes eased some, and she looked over at Katniss and Peeta. "You could help me you know."

The words stung Katniss, Johanna knew that, she intended it. Peeta scowled as he wrapped an arm around his wife. "Shoal, it was long ago, and not your concern. That's what Johanna has come to fix anyway."

Shoal relaxed, he knew Peeta wouldn't want anyone upset in his home, then nodded before escaping the room, slightly embarrassed.

"He is the spitting image of Finnick. Acts like him too," Johanna informed the two old victors.

Katniss snorted, and Peeta smiled. "Why are you here Johanna?" Katniss finally asked the woman.

Johanna knew there were thousands of ways she could handle this; crooked lying like Haymitch, sensitive explanations like Annie, or easy words like Peeta, but she was none of them. "This stupid argument has gone on long enough. I'm sick of it, I'm sure Peeta is sick of it. You and Gale need to get over it and talk again."

"That's all you came to tell me?" Katniss stared at Johanna, silently daring her to say more.

"Yes, and to ask you to let him know that you want to talk to him." Johanna waited for a reply, not quite patiently.

Katniss looked at the other woman without hiding her distaste, she glanced at Peeta who looked at her expectantly. "Why should I be the one to tell him?"

"Because I'm sick of badgering him. You know him, Katniss, he's too bull-headed to listen to reason sometimes," Johanna admitted. "He's running sweeps of the borders for the next week. When he calls me, can I tell him to stop here in Twelve to talk to you?"

Katniss stared at the floor, emotions flying through her eyes. So much has gone on, so much she needed her best friend for. So much needed to be resolved. She nodded.

"Johanna, your bedroom's ready," Greasy Sae called from up the stairs.

"I'm coming," Johanna called back. "Thanks," she told her old friends as she passed them and placed a hand on Peeta's shoulder. The two had an understanding, they heard each other's screams for such a long time after all.

"We'll see you in the morning," Peeta placed his hand over Johanna's before she climbed up the stairs.

The blizzard hit them hard during the night, winds howled and branches broke, the snow blotted out the light from everywhere.

In the darkness just before dawn a sound began to pierce the darkness. Katniss had ended up staying in Finna, and Rimmick's bedroom to soothe the children, not sleeping much herself, so she stayed with them. Humming began to rise from behind Annie's door as the marching sound got closer. Shoal rushed from his own room, clad only in pants, to go to his mother. The others in the house slept to peacefully to hear it, but Johanna sat watching the snow fall, and cringing at the thought of it touching her.

She jumped off her bed as soon as she heard the knocking on the door. She looked out her bedroom door to watch Peeta rush out of his room, wrapping a thick robe around himself, so he could answer the door. Katniss poked her head out of the children but returned to them when she saw Peeta going downstairs. Johanna followed the blond man to the door; she was used to marching footsteps at odd hours of the day with a husband and son both in the military.

She stood behind Peeta, who seemed to ignore her, as he opened the door.

Standing there in the door way were two men in military uniforms. Peeta stood there, shocked for a moment as he looked at the younger man's dark brown hair and gray eyes, with sharp features. He looked similar to the older man, who had gray touched black hair and gray eyes.

Peeta showed them in, a look of shock in his eyes. "Gale?"

"And this is my son, Troy. We were checking the border near here when the blizzard hit, we took refuge in District 12 but the barracks were cramped, I offered to remove my son and I from there since we wouldn't be moving for some time. And, well Peeta, I thought…but if not my old house still stands and will suffice for us."

"Mom?" Troy Hawthorne caught a glimpse of his mother in Peeta's shadow.

"Troy what are you—Johanna?" Gale looked at his wife.

"Surprise," Johanna told them and stepped out into the open.

"We have room for the both of you," Peeta told his wife's best friend. "Johanna came by to try and make amends between-."

Everyone stopped talking as a woman descended the stairs. Her gray eyes caught the faint light in the hallway as they widened in shock.

Katniss looked at the best friend she ever had. He had aged, like all of them; she knew that, after all he was often on television for one reason or another. Memories of her sister filtered into her mind, but after so long, and so much, she couldn't fit her death in to his hands anymore. It didn't quite fit, she had moved on in life, understood what had happened was out of everyone's control.

Gale took in the woman in front of him; he had heard that she had two children, a husband, a new life that didn't really seem quite real. He half expected to come back to her and find the girl that turned away from him so long ago. Things had changed now, she was a mother, he was a father. Life was different, but deep down, they were still the same in certain ways.

The problem between them was over long ago; it was just that neither of them were able to make the first step back to each other. Just like when they were teenagers in the forest, they understood each other's intentions perfectly, they were both sorry and they were forgiven. Two steps and they had their arms wrapped around one another in a mixture of crying and laughing.

"Gale."

"Catnip."

So many years had passed between them all. Where they lived was just that, they had their families, no matter how strange they were, and they had their odd ways. But for Katniss, and Gale, District 12 had never been home since the days when bombs rained down from the skies and young girls dream of becoming a doctor turned to ashes in the wind. Their families were juggled in everyday life, and their lives rearranged to accommodate the new world, but they could finally call it home again.


End file.
